Seed selecting and cleaning machine



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Patented .lune 29, 1926.

011310 B'NSE, 0F IESPEEIIQ'G-HASEN, NER NIEEERMARSBERG, GER-MANY,ASSIG-NOR raient ortica,

SEED SELECTING ll) CLEANNG MACHXNE.

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Application filedV April li/.ty' invention relates to an improved mag cchine or so-called t1-leur for cleaning seeds by selectingandsep'mating` therefrom4 foreign bodies or particles, particularlyWeed-seeds. 1

Generally speaking, machines of the kind, as hitherto employed, mainlycomprise aV rotary drum-having small pockets in its inner peripheralsurface for picking; up and lifting seed-grains of smaller size(Weed-seeds) from a charcge of seed supplied to the drum in order to befreed from Weed-seeds, and which constantlyremains in the bottom part ofthe rotating` drum, Whilst the Weed-seeds lifted up by the said pocketsare dropped into a stationarycollecting trough orsimilar vessel providedWithin the drum over the Whole of the length thereof.

T he said pockets are of a size to allow the Weed-seed grains to snuglyfit andv remain therein for approlzimatelyvthe Whole of the ascendingmovement of the pockets, but to not allow the useful seed grains whichare of a larger size, to embed therein. If, however, the useful seedgrains are so shaped or sized as to be. yet received by the pocl'zetonce in a while, the thus captured seed- `grains will projecttlierefroinand soon drop bacltinto the charge Without ever ascending sofar as to drop into the above mentioned trough. y

The efficiency of a machine of the stated type obviously depends uponits running speed. In the machines as hitherto con structed or suggestedthe rotary speed is limited by the charge being imparted an upv and downgoingl or fluctiuiting movement as soon as a certain velocity isreached. This fluctuation of the charge Within the rotating` ydrumexercises an unfavourable influence on the selecting operation for thefollou'finp,` reasons:

At any excessive speed the centrifugal force acts to press the chargefirmly towards the inner face of the drum so as to cause the former tostick thereto and to run therewith instead of uninterruptedly fallingbacl as at a low speed. In consequence' thereof'the.

pockets fail to Work until the circumferential speed is reduced, say toat least' 0.4i 1n. per second only.

pockets when they reach the horizontal cen- At this speed the selected'weed-seed `grains already drop out of the' 192.3, Serial' No. 632%;543,andi-n Germany March 7, 1923'.

trai plane of the drum, that isv to say, at a levelf where' it is verydifficult to ,gat-her them forsepara'tion from the useful seed grains.The' Object' of my invention is to provide means by which theeitlciencyof lthe ma# chine Will be* greatly enhanced owing to the factthat the selectingjdrum can be given a running speed? highly in excessof the peripheral velocity possible in machines of the class/hithertodevised, e. g., a drum of a diameter of 600 Inni. may be given as peeriplieral velocity of about 1.6m. per second. To this end I provide,according. to my invention, retaining, braking or stoppingl members' inthe d-ruln mounted longitudinally therein and. acting to prevent thecharge from going' up 'andv down" ori fluctuating, so that higher speedscan be utilized Without inducing y the selecting' action of thepockets'. iron@ rails, orlbarsor rolleraretain the' charge ors'eed massso-` that it slides upon'vtlie inner pocket' surfacev of the driuin;

lfaving;v thus setL forthin generali the prin-A ciple' upon vvhi'ehf my`invention `depends and having' pointedy to the particular improvementsand advantages effected over the'p'rior art shall now" particularlydescribe one simple'. ein'bodin'ientv thereof which I. have* shown-'1infl the ,accompanying drawings for the purpose"ofmo're fully disclosingmy in-y vention; but itfis to be, understood that the da'ivin'gsillustrate" only one' of the numermachine;

Figure l is aperspective vieu7 of the] ref: taining 'or braking`members, y Figure 5y shows one of the. supporting`- bearings' of thedrum,

Figure 6 is.' a crosssectional Vvievv of' a These members, for instance-dat the selecting action of the pockets 2 which portion of the wall ofthe drum with a retaining member and Figure 7 illustrates thearrangements of the pockets on the inner side of a portion of the wallof the drum.

The inner face of the cylindrical wall of the open-ended drum 1 isprovided with the usual pockets 2, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. Mountedon the two ends of the drum are rings 4 and 5 made of cast-iron andinterconnected by means of bolts or rods 3' and nuts. The ring 4 isshaped to form a running tread 6 of wedge-shape and the ring 5 is shownto have a similar running tread 7 of cylindrical circumference. Thetread 6 is supported by wheels 8 having a peripheral groove 82 ofcorresponding wedge-shaped cross-section for the tread to engage thereinso that the drum will be prevented from axial displacement. Thesupporting wheels 9 of the tread 7 are of cylindrical shape to conformto the tread but it goes without saying that both the tread 7 and thewheels 9 may also be given a wedge-shaped orangular cross-section, ifdesired.

The lower wheels 8 land 9 are keyed to a longitudinally extending shaft81 duly supported at its ends in bearings carried by the cross-beams 10and 11, whilst the upper wheels 8 and 9 are keyed to asimilar shaft 1 2supported in bearings carried by the yvertical beam 111. Keyed to theshaft 12 is a' pulley 13 for a belt to bedriven by any suitable powerengine not shown, so that the .i upper wheels8 and 9 are the drivingmembers of the drum, whereas the lower wheels 8 and 9 are meresupportingand guiding members.

rIhe drum is supplied with `a charge of seed, preferably continuously,at the one end where a feeding funnel 14 is provided for the purpose asindicated by dotted vlines in Figure 2. The ring 5 is cast integral witha wide annular flange 51 extending in the vertical end plane of the drumfor the purpose of preventing the fed in seed from falling out at thisend of the drum.

In the lower portion ofthe drum -1 a screw-conveyor 15 is provided. Saidconveyor extends throughA the whole :of the length of the'drum with itsshaft projecting through the open ends of the latter so as to besupported in suitable bearings carried by the two cross-beams 16 and 17of the machine frame. The conveyor 15 acts to slowly move the charge orseed from the one end of the drum where the feedingk funnel 14continuously replenishes, `towards the other end, where an outlet-funnel18 is provided to receive the purified seed. On the way from the feedingfunnel 14 to the discharge-funnel .18 the seed is subjected touninterruptedly pick out the weed-seed grains (of smaller size) owing tothe continnous rotation of the drum, as will be readily understood oninspection of Figur-es 6 and 7. The picked-out grains are taken along bythe drum up to a certain height or point where they fall out of thepockets into a stationary trough 19. A screw-conveyor 20 is provided inthe latter for the purpose of driving the selected Weel-'seed grainstowards an outlet-pipe 21 connected with the trough at the delivery endof the drum and acting to forward the grains into a collecting vessel orthe like. The two screw-conveyors 15 and 20 are driven by the main shaft12 through the agency of pulleys 121, 122, 151, 201 and belts and 31respectively.

According to my invention longitudinal bars, boards or plates, made ofsuitable material such as sheet-iron or the like, are inserted in thedrum at a place near the ascending side of and preferably parallel tothe wall of the rotating drum, as will bereadily understood fromrFigure 1. In the embodiment shownfour such plates 211, 22,23 and 24 areprovided, but I wish to have it understood that the number of plates isynot essential, it being obvious to those versed in the art that more orless boards or plates or rails may be provided to ensure the' de,- siredeffect, just in accordance with the particular construction of themachine and the" kind of seeds to be treated. Further I desiretoemphasize that the ,boards or plates 211, 22, 23, 24 may constitute orrepresent any desired or suitable form and that all or any of the statedconstructional elements may be given a cross-sectional shape of any'desired or suitable contour. Furthermore I wish to point to themodifications within the scope of my invention according Vto' which theretaining, braking or stopping members may comprise, instead of simpleand immovable plates, boards or bars and other suitably arranged andformed e1ements capable of preventing the charge from rising with thedrum.

The retaining plates 211,22, 23 and 24 in the embodiment shown extendwithinV the drum over the whole of the length of the latter andareconnected and supported at theirl ends by two vertical members 25 and 26with which they form a structure in the shape of `a grate, that can beinserted into the drum as a whole, as will be vreadily understood fromFigure 4 showing one end portion of the said structure. The saidvertical members or plates 25, 26 are equipped with flanges or laps 28bent olf at right angles to aord a means for the connection with anangle-bar 27 extending longitudinally and parallel to the retainingplates in the drum. The said laps 28 are riveted or detachably connectedwith the bar 27 firmly attached to the cross-beams 16 and 17 of theframe of the machine. As illustratedin the drawings the collectingtrough 19 is sup- 1,5 aegee ported at its two ends vby `the .uppermostcross-beams of the frame, but the vertical 'end-plates 25, 26 may beshaped and disposed to serve as a means for supporting the said trough19, if required or desired.

The horizontally arranged plates .211, 22, 23 and 24: act to retain theascending seed in a manner -that the lowermost `layerof seed grainsimmediately in touchwith the wall of the rotating drum will lbeconstantlykept in a sliding movement with relation .to the drinn wall.Inthis way a proper selecting operation will be ensured, since thesmaller seed grains (weed-seed) thus get more readily access to thepockets and the larger seed grains (useful seed) incidentally receivedthe pockets and projecting therefrom owing to their larger size, aretilted and thrown Yout again ofi' the pockets vby the charge or layer ofseed constantly moving in opposition, that is to say, in a directionopposed'to the rotary movement of the drum, so that the pockets will beaccessible again to the smaller weed-seed grains which snugly iittherein so as to be taken along up to the point of dropping into thetrough 19.

The uppermost retaining plate 211 is bent down at an angle to form aguiding face 212 for the seed grains that have been elevated above andover the plate 2l1 properly speaking. that is the inclined and upwardseX- tending portion thereof. The said guiding face 212 acts to returnthe elevated seed grains to the bottom of the drum as will be clearlyseen on inspection of Figure 1. In this manner the seed grainswill beproperly stirred and mixed and turned over and over again, so that thecharge fed into the drum will, on its way from the inlet 14 to theoutlet 18, bring all of its layers or strata into immediate Contact withthe wall of the drum, whereby all of the weed-seed grains are caught bythe pockets 2 and carried oft' into the collecting trough 19 at acomparatively high running speed of the drum. Obviously the lower plates22, 23 and 24C likewise act to turn over and return the seed to thebottom of the drum by causing the elevated grains to fall off over theinner marginal edges of the plates.

lt is to be noted that the known Screwconveyor 15 usually located withinthe drum at the lowest part thereof cannot act and is not intended toact as a retaining and returning member, for the reason that the seeddoes not accumulate in the vicinity of the said conveyor and the lattercannot cause the seed to slide on the essentially horizontal portion orbottom of the inner face of the drum, nor even contribute to impart tothe seed cr charge a sliding movement as hereinbefore explained withrespect to the described retaining or braking members.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that simple and eiiicientmeans are herein .provided for .accomplishing the objects of myinvention, but while the elements shown and describedare well adapted toserve the purposes for .which they are intended, it will beunderstoodthat the invention is not limited tothe ,precise construct-ion setforth, but includes .within .its Vpurview such changes as may he madewithin rthe scope of the appended claims.

'pVfhat I claim is:

1. A seed selecting and cleaning machine, comprising a drum` pockets on'the inner face of the wall of the drum, means for imparting rotarymotion to the drum, a 4conveyorl within the drum, and means lying withinthe charge to be'selected and retaining the charge so that the wholecharge .slides soY upon .the inner .poclteted surface of the drum 4 andystrikes off the projecting grains from the pockets, and permits of theimmediate filling .of the pockets with small undesirable grains. j v

2. A seed selectingand cleaning machine, comprising a drum, pockets onthe inner face of the wall of the drum, means for imparting rotarymotion to the drum, a conveyor within the drum, meansv for actuatingsaid conveyor, and a. stationary retaining and returning plate locatedin the drum and eX- tending longitudinally therein in the vicinity ofand parallel to the ascending side of the wall of the saiddrum,`essentially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A seed selecting and cleaning machine, comprising a drum, pockets onthe inner face of the wall of the drum, means for impart` ing rotarymotion to the drum, a conveyor within the drum, means for actuating saidconveyor, and a. stationary retaining` and returning structurecomposedof a plurality of bars arranged below one another in the peripheraldirection of the drum longitudinally disposed in the drum near andparallel to the ascending side of the wall thereof, essentially as andfor the purpose set forth.

t. A seed selecting and cleaning machine, comprising a drum, pockets onthe inner surface of the wall of said drum, means for imparting rotarymotion to the drum, a conveyor within the drum, means for actuating saidconveyor, and a stationary withholding and returning member composed ofstationary side members and al series of bars of suitable profilerigidly connected between said side members to form a grate-likestructure, essentially as and for the purpose set forth. Y

5. A seed selecting and cleaning machine, comprising a drum, pockets onthe inner face of the wall of the drum, means for irnparting rotarymotion to the drum, a conveyor within the drum, means` for actuatingsaid conveyor, and stationary means for retaining and returning to thebottom of the drum thoseparts of the seed or charge tendico, Y

force, substantially as described.

6. A seed selecting and cleaning machine,

fr comprising a drum, pockets on the innerv face of the Wall of saiddrum, means for imparting rotary motion to the drum, a conveyor Withinthe drum, means for actuating Said conveyor, andV stationary membershav-k lfl ing parts for retaining and returning tothe bottom of the drumthose parts of the feed or charge tending to be taken along by the Wallof the drum through the action of centrifugal force, substantially asdescribed.'

7 A seed selecting and cleaningmachine, comprising a support, a drumrotatably mounted therein, pockets on the inner face of the Wall or Saiddrum, a etationarytrough p located in the'top of the drum beneath the e"inner face of vthe Wall thereof, a conveyor operating in said trough, afeed conveyor operably mounted in the lower pant of the drum, meansl:tor actuating saidl conveyors` and means for retaining and returning`to the bottoni of ythe drum those parts of thel connected' with thesupport anda plurality of longitudinally disposed bars arranged behindone another in the peripheral connection of the drum and connectedbetween said side members forming a grateelike structure, substantiallyvas and for the purposes set forth.

8. In an arrangement as claimed in claim 7, Wherein'a guide continues atan inclination Jfrom the upper bar and acts as a return for elevatedseed grains to vthe bottom of the drum.

In testimony whereof Ithave aiitixed my signature.

orro BUNsn.

